History TearJerker / LegacyOfKain

** ''Soul Reaver 2'' has Raziel meet Ariel before their first meeting, but 100 years after the Pillars' destruction. Ariel is once again (probably for the unempth time) lamenting her fate and Kain's crimes, but this time around Raziel has grown wiser and questions Ariel's judgement, Kain's guilt and the Circle of Nine's own inherent flaws and corruptions. When Ariel insists that Kain's death can set her free and restore the Pillars, Raziel somewhat callously suggests that [[ShootTheShaggyDogStory it's already too late to save Nosgoth even if Kain dies]] and that Ariel is probably ''bound for eternity with no hope of escape''. Ariel despairs and begs Raziel to have some mercy, only for her to [[CallingTheOldManOut call her out on having no such thing]] [[ManipulativeBitch when manipulating Kain]] [[WhatTheHellHero to murder the Circle, starting with her lover Nupraptor, while also hiding both his destiny as Guardian and the eventual suicide he was meant to do]]. Ariel doesn't handle it very well, and Raziel leaves. But not before giving her a haunting warning (and reminder for us players)...

--> '''Raziel''': I did not intend to disturb your rest. I'm merely looking for answers, Ariel. Very well - I'll leave you in peace. But know this - about you, and this purgatory from which you long to escape... [[ForegoneConclusion ''you're merely at the threshold.'']]

---> '''Ariel''': Rest...? [[TheNeedless A body is needed for sleep... Flesh and bones are required to recline.]] [[FateWorseThanDeath No, child, all I may do is watch, and remember, ceaselessly conscious]] as this wretched world’s history unfurls. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Ghastly past,]] [[BadFuture insufferable future,]] [[EternalRecurrence are they one and the same...?]] [[AndIMustScream Am I '''''always''''' here?]]

* In ''Legacy of Kain: Defiance'', Raziel's Death. Made worse by seeing so clearly that Kain, SociopathicHero, {{Magnificent Bastard}} and Raziel's killer, actually cares about him, and is very clearly saddened by his death. Which came as something of a surprise, given how little he seems to care for anyone else. It gets even worse when Kain sees [[EldritchAbomination the Elder God]] for the first time. His inner monologue says in no uncertain terms that [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone he's horrified that he delivered Raziel into the hands of such an unholy creature.]]

--> '''Ariel''': What are you, little soul? Another of Kain’s creatures, come to taunt this bound spectre?
--> '''Raziel''': I did not intend to disturb your rest.
--> '''Ariel''': Rest...? [[TheNeedless A body is needed for sleep... Flesh and bones are required to recline.]] [[FateWorseThanDeath No, child, all I may do is watch, and remember, ceaselessly conscious]] as this wretched world’s history unfurls. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Ghastly past,]] [[BadFuture insufferable future,]] [[EternalRecurrence are they one and the same...?]] [[AndIMustScream Am I '''''always''''' here?]]

--> '''Ariel''': Rest...? [[TheNeedless A body is needed for sleep... Flesh and bones are required to recline.]] [[FateWorseThanDeath No, child, all I may do is watch, and remember, ceaselessly conscious]] as this wretched world’s history unfurls. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Ghastly past,]] [[BadFuture insufferable future,]] [[EternalRecurrence are they one and the same...?]] Am I '''''always''''' here?

--> '''Ariel''': Rest...? [[TheNeedless A body is needed for sleep... Flesh and bones are required to recline.]] [[FateWorseThanDeath No, child, all I may do is watch, and remember, ceaselessly conscious]] as this wretched world’s history unfurls. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Ghastly past,]] [[BadFuture insufferable future,]] [[EternalRecurrence are they one and the same...?]] Am I ''''always'''' here?

--> '''Ariel''': Rest...? [[TheNeedless A body is needed for sleep... Flesh and bones are required to recline.]] [[FateWorseThanDeath No, child, all I may do is watch, and remember, ceaselessly conscious]] as this wretched world’s history unfurls. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Ghastly past,]] [[BadFuture insufferable future,]] [[EternalRecurrence are they one and the same...?]] Am I '''always''' here?

--> '''Ariel''': Rest...? [[TheNeedless A body is needed for sleep... Flesh and bones are required to recline.]] [[FateWorseThanDeath No, child, all I may do is watch, and remember, ceaselessly conscious]] as this wretched world’s history unfurls. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Ghastly past,]] [[BadFuture insufferable future,]] [[EternalRecurrence are they one and the same...?]] [[GoMadFromTheIsolation Am I '''always''' here?]]

--> '''Ariel''': Rest...? [[TheNeedless A body is needed for sleep... Flesh and bones are required to recline.]] [[FateWorseThanDeath No, child, all I may do is watch, and remember, ceaselessly conscious]] as this wretched world’s history unfurls. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Ghastly past,]] [[BadFuture insufferable future,]] [[EternalRecurrence are they one and the same...?]] [[GoMadFromTheIsolation Am I ''always'' here?]]

--> '''Ariel''': What are you, little soul? Another of Kain’s creatures, come to taunt this bound spectre?

--> '''Ariel''': Rest...? [[TheNeedless A body is needed for sleep... Flesh and bones are required to recline.]] [[FateWorseThan Death No, child, all I may do is watch, and remember, ceaselessly conscious]] as this wretched world’s history unfurls. [[DarkAndTroubledPast Ghastly past,]] [[BadFuture insufferable future,]] [[EternalRecurrence are they one and the same...?]] [[GoMadFromTheIsolation Am I ''always'' here?]]

* The brutal murder of Janos Audron in ''Soul Reaver 2''. When he first meets Raziel as a wraith, he shows himself to be [[BigGood the most]] [[NiceGuy kind-hearted character]] in the entire franchise, even [[HeroicSacrifice allowing himself to be killed by the Sarafan in order to save Raziel]]. Raziel is completely devastated when he watches his past self pin Janos down and rip out his heart. The rest of the game is Raziel butchering the past versions of his brothers and himself to and retrieve Janos' heart to save him... only for him to be nearly devoured by the Soul Reaver, which would have been his fate if not for Kain's intervention. P.S. Janos was also Vorador's Vampire father, which was the reason for Vorador's iconic and infamous massacre of the Circle of Nine.

** His situation in ''Defiance'' isn't much better. Vorador kept his body hidden in his mansion, where it still remains preserved due to the Heart of Darkness still being out there somewhere. Raziel seeks it, while Kain seeks to stop him because Janos' resurrection would somehow unleash a SealedEvilInACan, the Hylden. Raziel finds the Heart of Darkness (inside Kain's chest, mind you) and revives Janos, who guides him to the Vampire Citadel at TheDarkestHour of the Blood Omen time period to try and change the course of events... only for the inevitable to occur, and Janos suffers DemonicPossession from the Hash'ak'gik the Hylden Lord, the true BigBad of Blood Omen (who also possessed Mortanius and caused Ariel's death). After a fight with Raziel, who cannot bring himself to kill his friend, Hash'ak'gik defeats Raziel and flies away with Janos' body. Which causes the Blood Omen 2 timeline, where the Hylden use Janos' blood to break free from the Demon Realm, and transform Janos into a TorturedAbomination for centuries before young Kain comes around to help.

* The brutal murder of Janos Audron in ''Soul Reaver 2''. When he first meets Raziel as a wraith, he shows himself to be [[BigGood the most]] [[NiceGuy kind-hearted character]] in the entire franchise, even [[HeroicSacrifice allowing himself to be killed by the Sarafan in order to save Raziel]]. Raziel is completely devastated when he watches his past self pin Janos down and rip out his heart.
** His ultimate fate in Blood Omen 2 is also quite jarring. He interferes in the final battle between Kain and the Hylden Lord... only to have his wings broken by the BigBad and cast into the [[DarkWorld Demon]] [[EldritchLocation Realm]] to where the Hylden have been banished, "a prisoner for all time" as the Hylden Lord puts it. A somewhat karmic fate, but still horrifying given Janos' kind nature repeated [[HeroicSacrifice sacrices]] to save the protagonists and Nosgoth. And with the current status of the franchise, ''this is the end of Janos Audron's story so far.''

** His ultimate fate in Blood Omen 2 is also quite jarring. He interferes in the final battle between Kain and the Hylden Lord... only to have his wings broken by the BigBad and cast into the [[Hell Demon]] [[EldritchLocation Realm]] to where the Hylden have been banished, "a prisoner for all time" as the Hylden Lord puts it. A somewhat karmic fate, but still horrifying given Janos' kind nature repeated [[HeroicSacrifice sacrices]] to save the protagonists and Nosgoth. And with the current status of the franchise, ''this is the end of Janos Audron's story so far.''

* On the first playthrough of ''Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver,'' one can be forgiven for thinking that Kain had Raziel cast into the abyss out of spite. But as the story unfolds, especially if you play the sequels, you begin to wonder...was it spite on Kain's face when he condemned his favourite son to a fate worse than death or was it anguish?

* In ''Legacy of Kain: Defiance'', Raziel's Death. Made worse by seeing so clearly that Kain, SociopathicHero, {{Magnificent Bastard}} and Raziel's killer, actually cares about him, and is very clearly saddened by his death. Which came as something of a surprise, given how little he seems to care for anyone else. It gets even worse when Kain sees the Elder God for the first time. His inner monologue says in no uncertain terms that he's horrified that he delivered Raziel into the hands of such an unholy creature.

* Umah's death in ''Blood Omen 2'' might count. It was so deliberately cruel and brutal, especially since Kain is not normally prone to unnecessary KickTheDog cruelty. Also, Umah was the closest thing to a MoralityPet that Kain had, and that deathblow seemed to destroy the last remnant of Kain's humanity: "You have left me alone". Yes, it's a very self-centred form of grief, but it's the closest thing to true emotion that Kain will have for centuries.
* The brutal murder of Janos Audron in ''Soul Reaver 2''. When he first meets Raziel as a wraith, he shows himself to be the most kind-hearted character in the entire franchise, even allowing himself to be killed by the Sarafan in order to save Raziel. Raziel is completely devastated when he watches his past self pin Janos down and rip out his heart.

* In ''Legacy of Kain: Defiance'', Raziel's Death. Made worse by seeing so clearly that Kain, SociopathicHero, {{Magnificent Bastard}} and Raziel's killer, actually cares about him, and is very clearly saddened by his death. Which came as something of a surprise, given how little he seems to care for anyone else.

* Janos Audron transporting Raziel to the Fire Forge to save him, only to be brutally murdered by the Sarafan as Raziel attempts to rescue him.

* In ''Legacy of Kain: Defiance'', [[spoiler: Raziel's Death. Made worse by seeing so clearly that Kain, SociopathicHero, {{Magnificent Bastard}} and Raziel's killer, actually cares about him, and is very clearly saddened by his death. Which came as something of a surprise, given how little he seems to care for anyone else.]]
** Well, Kain ''did'' re-order the flow of time. More than once, in fact. And it was implied [[spoiler: that he was doing so, at least in part, to spare Raziel the fate of being absorbed into the Reaver]]. The final cutscene also enters Tearjerker territory.
* [[spoiler: Umah's death]] in ''Blood Omen 2'' might count. It was so deliberately cruel and brutal, especially since Kain is not normally prone to unnecessary KickTheDog cruelty. Also, [[spoiler: Umah was the closest thing to a MoralityPet that Kain had, and that deathblow seemed to destroy the last remnant of Kain's humanity: "You have left me alone"]]. Yes, it's a very self-centred form of grief, but it's the closest thing to true emotion that Kain will have for centuries.

* Melchaiah's death in ''Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver.'' After spending centuries as a monstrosity, his reaction to his impending (and horrific) demise can best be described as ''relief'' as he is, in his words, "released." One can't help but feel pity for the creature.

* In ''Legacy of Kain: Defiance'', [[spoiler: Raziel's Death. Made worse by seeing so clearly that Kain, SociopathicHero, {{Magnificent Bastard}} and Raziel's killer, actually cares about him, and is very clearly saddened by his death. Which came as something of a surprise, given how little he seems to care for anyone else.]]
** Well, Kain ''did'' re-order the flow of time. More than once, in fact. And it was implied [[spoiler: that he was doing so, at least in part, to spare Raziel the fate of being absorbed into the Reaver]]. The final cutscene also enters Tearjerker territory.

** Think it's bad enough already? Watch it again with "The Farm" with Road to Perdition playing in the background...becomes a scene right out of a movie at that point.
* YMMV heavily on this, but [[spoiler: Umah's death]] in ''Blood Omen 2'' might count. It was so deliberately cruel and brutal, especially since Kain is not normally prone to unnecessary KickTheDog cruelty. Also, [[spoiler: Umah was the closest thing to a MoralityPet that Kain had, and that deathblow seemed to destroy the last remnant of Kain's humanity: "You have left me alone"]]. Yes, it's a very self-centred form of grief, but it's the closest thing to true emotion that Kain will have for centuries.

* In ''Legacy of Kain: Defiance'', [[spoiler: Raziel's Death. Made worse by seeing so clearly that Kain, {{Heroic Sociopath}}, {{Magnificent Bastard}} and Raziel's killer, actually cares about him, and is very clearly saddened by his death. Which came as something of a surprise, given how little he seems to care for anyone else.]]

* In Legacy of Kain: Defiance, [[spoiler: Raziel's Death. Made worse by seeing so clearly that Kain, {{Heroic Sociopath}}, {{Magnificent Bastard}} and Raziel's killer, actually cares about him, and is very clearly saddened by his death. Which came as something of a surprise, given how little he seems to care for anyone else.]]

* In Legacy of Kain: Defiance, [[spoiler: Raziel's Death. Made worse by seeing so clearly that Kain, {{Heroic Sociopath}}, {{Magnificient Bastard}} and Raziel's killer, actually cares about him, and is very clearly saddened by his death. Which came as something of a surprise, given how little he seems to care for anyone else.]]

** Think it's bad enough already? Watch it again with "The Farm" with Road to Perdition playing in the background...